Seoul Police Chief: "Kim Ho-jung Obstructed Drunk Driving Investigation... Legislative Discussion Needed in National Assembly"

Difficult to Agree with 'Human Rights Violation Claims'

Jo Ji-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated on the 3rd regarding trot singer Kim Ho-joong's hit-and-run immediately after drunk driving and obstruction of investigation, "It is against social justice for a person who has clearly committed a crime to engage in inappropriate acts to evade the law," adding, "This is a topic that requires legislative discussion in the National Assembly."

Trot singer Kim Ho-jung is appearing at the Seoul Central District Court.
[Photo by Jo Yong-jun]

At a regular press briefing that day, Commissioner Jo said, "Based on the statements of those involved in the case, we applied the Widmark formula and obtained several figures. Ultimately, keeping in mind the possibility of a guilty verdict, we applied the most conservative values when referring the case," and added, "If necessary, I think there is also a need to develop a new Widmark formula." The Widmark formula is a method to estimate blood alcohol concentration over time based on the type of alcohol and body weight.

Regarding Kim's side's claim of human rights violations, Commissioner Jo emphasized, "Most suspects enter and leave through the front gate of the police station. The defense attorney requested a private appearance, but I think Gangnam Police Station initially made a wrong judgment. This was properly corrected," and stressed, "It is very difficult to agree that the police's actions constitute human rights violations."

On Kim's refusal to leave for six hours after the investigation, Commissioner Jo explained, "The police station is a public institution, and one can stay longer based on their free will," adding, "Most people want to leave quickly, so this is an unusual case."